Greasy Pole
Greasy pole, grease pole, or greased pole refers to a tall pole that has been made slippery with grease or other lubricants and thus difficult to grip. More specifically, it is the name of several events that involve staying on, climbing up, walking over or otherwise traversing such a pole. This kind of event exists in several variations around the world. It is also used as a metaphor for the difficulty in achieving the top of one's career. Canada As part of Queen's Engineering Frosh Week, the incoming first-year engineering students must, with the help of the upper-year engineering students, climb to the top of a grease pole and remove a tam which is nailed to the pole's top. The Queen's Grease Pole is a metal football goalpost stolen by Queen's engineering students in 1955 from University of Toronto's Varsity Stadium. Currently, the pole is covered in lanolin and placed in the centre of a pit of muddy water referred to as the "Grease Pit", but from the first climbing of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gurn
A gurn or chuck is a distorted facial expression and a verb to describe the action. A typical gurn involves projecting the lower jaw as far forward and up as possible and covering the upper lip with the lower lip. The English Dialect Dictionary, compiled by Joseph Wright, defines the word gurn as "to snarl as a dog; to look savage; to distort the countenance," while the Oxford English Dictionary suggests the derivation may originally be Scottish, related to "grin." In Northern Ireland, the verb "to gurn" means "to cry," and crying is often referred to as "gurnin'." Originally the Scottish dialectical usage refers to a person who is complaining. The term "gurn" may also refer to an involuntary facial muscular contortion experienced as a side-effect of MDMA consumption. Gurning contests Gurning contests are a rural English tradition. They are held regularly in some villages, with contestants traditionally framing their faces through a horse collar — known as "gurnin' through ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Herndon Monument
The Herndon Monument on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy is a grey granite obelisk. It was erected in memory of Captain William Lewis Herndon, who died during the sinking of his ship, SS ''Central America'', on September 12, 1857 while helping to evacuate passengers and crew. All women and children and many of the men aboard were saved by a nearby ship during the storm. Description The monument is a granite obelisk presented to the Academy by the class of 1860. It was designed by an unknown sculptor, and has the alternative long name of "Commander William L. Herndon, USN 1813-1857". Inscriptions On the monument's base, facing the Naval Academy Chapel, is a plaque: ''Maury'' is Matthew Fontaine Maury, Herndon's co-worker (from 1842 to 1846), brother-in-law, and cousin. To the right on the obelisk from the plaque, in raised block letters, is "HERNDON.". On the opposite side of the obelisk, also in raised letters, is "September 12, 1857.". Ship's bell ''Central Ameri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Van Arsdale
John Jacob Van Arsdale (1756-1836) was an American Revolutionary War soldier, noted for his legendary participation in the Evacuation Day flag-raising in 1783. From Cornwall, New York, he participated in the Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec and the unsuccessful Battle of Quebec in 1775. He was later captured in the defensive Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery in 1777, and was detained by the British for nine and one-half months, including two months in the sugar house prisons, before being released in a prisoner exchange. On November 25, 1783, later known as Evacuation Day, he is said to have gamely climbed a greasy flagpole left by the British at Fort George as they departed the city, to remove their standard and replace it with the American flag. The flag-raising story only appears after the fact though, and many accounts that include a climber describe a man a decade younger than Van Arsdale actually was at that point. He and his descendants, such as John Lafayet ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Evacuation Day (New York)
Evacuation Day on November 25 marks the day in 1783 when the British Army departed from New York City on Manhattan Island, after the end of the American Revolutionary War. In their wake, General George Washington triumphantly led the Continental Army from his headquarters north of the city across the Harlem River, and south through Manhattan to the Battery at its southern tip. History Background Following the significant losses at the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776, General George Washington and the Continental Army retreated across the East River by benefit of both a retreat and holding action by well-trained Maryland Line troops at Gowanus Creek and Canal and a night fog which obscured the barges and boats evacuating troops to Manhattan Island. On September 15, 1776, the British flag replaced the American atop Fort George, where it was to remain until Evacuation Day. Washington's Continentals subsequently withdrew north and west out of the town and following the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily newspaper in Boston. Founded in 1872, the paper was mainly controlled by Irish Catholic interests before being sold to Charles H. Taylor and his family. After being privately held until 1973, it was sold to ''The New York Times'' in 1993 for $1.1billion, making it one of the most expensive print purchases in U.S. history. The newspaper was purchased in 2013 by Boston Red Sox and Liverpool owner John W. Henry for $70million from The New York Times Company, having lost over 90% of its value in 20 years. The newspaper has been noted as "one of the nation's most prestigious papers." In 1967, ''The Boston Globe'' became the first major paper in the U.S. to come out against the Vietnam War. The paper's 2002 c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a popular summer destination, Gloucester consists of an urban core on the north side of the harbor and the outlying neighborhoods of Annisquam, Bay View, Lanesville, Folly Cove, Magnolia, Riverdale, East Gloucester, and West Gloucester. History The boundaries of Gloucester originally included the town of Rockport, in an area dubbed "Sandy Bay". The village separated formally from Gloucester on February 27, 1840. In 1873, Gloucester was reincorporated as a city. Contact period Native Americans inhabited what would become northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to the European colonization of the Americas. At the time of contact, the area was inhabited by Agawam people under sachem Masconomet. Evidence of a village exis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Italian Market
The Italian Market is the popular name for the South 9th Street Curb Market, an area of South Philadelphia featuring awning covered sidewalks, curb carts, grocery shops, cafes, restaurants, bakeries, cheese shops, butcher shops, etc., many with an Italian influence. The historical heart of the market is the area of 9th Street between Christian Street and Washington Avenue,Historical Society of Pennsylvania Phila Place - 9th Street Market (hsp.org/default.aspx?id=1077) the commercial district chartered in 1915, the South Ninth Street Business Men's Association, covered the area between Catharine to Federal and Eighth to Tenth streets, and the market is now generally considered to extend from Fitzwater Street at the north to Wharton Street at the south. The term Italian Market is also used to generally describe the surrounding ne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1854, the city has been coextensive with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the Delaware Valley, the nation's seventh-largest and one of world's largest metropolitan regions, with 6.245 million residents . The city's population at the 2020 census was 1,603,797, and over 56 million people live within of Philadelphia. Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn, an English Quaker. The city served as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony during the British colonial era and went on to play a historic and vital role as the central meeting place for the nation's founding fathers whose plans and actions in Philadelphia ultimately inspired the American Revolution and the nation's inde ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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North Norfolk
North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a merger of Cromer Urban District, North Walsham Urban District, Sheringham Urban District, Wells-next-the-Sea Urban District, Erpingham Rural District, Smallburgh Rural District, and Walsingham Rural District. The district was originally to be called Pastonacres, but changed its name by resolution of the council and permission of the Secretary of State for Environment before it formally came into existence on 1 April 1974. Politics Elections to the district council are held every four years, with all of the seats on the council up for election every fourth year. The council was run by a Conservative administration, the Conservative party having gained a majority of 8 seats at the 2011 elections, which they increased to 18 at the 20 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blakeney, Norfolk
Blakeney is a coastal village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Blakeney lies within the Norfolk Coast AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and the North Norfolk Heritage Coast. The North Norfolk Coastal Path travels along its quayside. The village is north west of Norwich, NNW of the larger settlement of Holt, west of Cromer and NNE of London. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 789 in 402 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North Norfolk. Description Blakeney was a commercial seaport until the early 20th century. Now the harbour is silted up, and only small boats can make their way out past Blakeney Point to the sea. Adjacent to the hill, at the foot of the village's High Street, is the old Guildhall with a 14th-century undercroft. Higher up the village, the Church of St Nicholas has two towers: the main tower is more than 100 ft (30 m) high ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |